30/01/2007
Vitoria-Gasteiz, 30 January 2007.
The number of guided visits to the Santa
María Cathedral continues to rise at a rapid pace. Just
after the start of the new year, the figures recorded for the month of
January and the number of visits booked for the next few months suggest
that the total number of people visiting the Cathedral of Vitoria this
year will easily surpass that of last year, when the temple attracted a
total of 98,790 visitors.
More than 15,000 people are expected to visit the Santa
María Cathedral during the months of January and February.
This figure is significantly higher than the record numbers of visitors
recorded in previous years. The strong increase reflects the success of
the initiative, launched at the beginning of this year, to invite
citizens to a free visit to the Old Cathedral as a token of gratitude
for having contributed to achieving 500,000 visitors.
The actual figures have exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts,
which is why the Santa María Cathedral Foundation has
decided to extend the period of free visits for one more month, until
31 March. One week after launching this initiative, the maximum number
of free visits for the months of January and February had already been
reached.
The number of telephone bookings has not dropped over the past few
days. This is why the Foundation has decided to extend the period of
free visits, which was initially set to end on 28 February, until the
end of March. If demand is sustained, the Santa María
Cathedral will close its first quarter of the year with approximately
25,000 visitors.
Besides increasing the number of visitors, the programme of free visits
has achieved another key objective: many of those who have already
visited the Cathedral or have booked a free visit, had not had the
opportunity to visit the Cathedral´s restoration works until
now. Five out of every ten visits are booked by people from Vitoria or
Álava, who will be visiting the Santa María
Cathedral for the first time.
The Santa María Cathedral Foundation has sent out more than
87,000 letters with invitation to visit the Cathedral. Those interested
are required to book their visit in advance, indicating the number of
visitors, fill out the invitation as a reminder and present it at the
Visitors Centre on the chosen day. Visits must be booked by phone at:
945 255 135.
New features at
FITUR 2007
The Santa María Cathedral Foundation is extending this
initiative to all professionals and people in general who visit the
Basque Country stand between tomorrow (Wednesday) and next Sunday at
the 27th edition of the FITUR 2007 International Tourism Trade Fair of
Madrid. FITUR, one of the most important tourism fairs in the world,
has largely contributed to the dissemination of the
Cathedral´s restoration works, which is why the Foundation
has wanted to express its gratitude to the participants in the fair.
Participants in FITUR will be able to discover many other new features.
The Santa María Cathedral Foundation is presenting the most
recent attractions included in its guided visits: new archaeological
excavations inside the temple, restoration works throughout the entire
building, a funeral museum with remains of ancient burials, the new
scaffolding that goes all the way up to the ceiling of the porch, scale
models of the old town of Gasteiz, exhibitions, audiovisual
presentations…
Another new feature is the new image created for the promotion of the
guided visits. The image represents a little girl and her father, both
in black and white, who become gradually impregnated with the
polychrome of the Virgin on the Cathedral´s porch. It is a
metaphor of how the Santa María Cathedral allows visitors
not only to contemplate but also to participate, from a very short
distance, in the unique experience of restoring an important part of
cultural heritage.
The Santa María Cathedral Foundation is using its presence
at FITUR to present a new issue of “Noticias desde el
Triforio”, a 36-page colour magazine with a 100,000 copy
print run, published on the occasion of having completed half the
restoration project. The magazine includes pictures of the many
different aspects of the restoration works that are open to the public:
architecture, archaeology, art, culture, tourism… New
folders and posters complete the list of materials displayed at the
fair.
It is the seventh consecutive year that the Santa María
Cathedral participates in FITUR, where it has become an important
element of reference of the Basque Country stand. The public
restoration works have gained the recognition of tour operators,
professionals, private visitors and anyone else participating in the
fair.
Experts in tourism have greatly valued the experience and the effects
of opening up the recovery of this monument to the general public, but
also the way in which the Santa María Cathedral is
contributing to knowledge and training within a new concept of tourism
oriented not only to leisure, but also to learning. It is therefore not
surprising that professionals and participants in FITUR are attaching
increasing importance to tourism related to socio-cultural
sustainability.
The King and Queen of Spain, who have repeatedly shown interest in the
restoration works and visited the site in June 2004, will officially
inaugurate the 27th edition of FITUR, which features representatives
from 170 different countries. More than 12,000 exhibitors, 150,000
tourism industry professionals and some 96,000 visitors are clear
evidence of the continued and growing success of this event.